# Narrative Matters: Cultural humility in mental healthcare

## TL;DR

This paper explores why young people from ethnic minorities in the UK avoid or leave mental healthcare and suggests 'cultural humility' as a better approach than traditional methods.

## Contribution

The paper introduces 'cultural humility' as a novel intercultural approach to mental healthcare, emphasizing a 'way of being' over skill acquisition.

## Key findings

- Ethnic minority young people in the UK are less likely to seek or stay in mental healthcare.
- Cultural competence has failed to reduce ethnic disparities in mental healthcare outcomes.
- Cultural humility is proposed as a more effective alternative to improve engagement and outcomes.

## Abstract

Young people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the United Kingdom are less likely to seek psychological support than their white peers. When they do engage with services, a disproportionate number leave, often prematurely. Intercultural frameworks have been developed to help clinicians engage sensitively with diverse populations and improve outcomes. For decades, ‘cultural competence’ has been an accepted intercultural framework across the United Kingdom and beyond (North America, Europe and Australia). However, despite its wide application, ethnic disparities in mental healthcare remain virtually unchanged, exposing a gap between the promise of cultural competence and what it delivers. This article endorses ‘cultural humility’: a different approach to intercultural practice, inviting a ‘way of being’ embedded into practice rather than an acquired skill set. It will outline theoretical principles and describe how this model can be applied to clinical settings, using real‐life scenarios involving ethnic minority young people.